1969 Los Angeles Dodgers season

1969 Los Angeles Dodgers
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles
Owners	Walter O'Malley, James Mulvey
President	Walter O'Malley
General managers	Al Campanis
Managers	Walter Alston
Television	KTTV (11)
Radio	KFI Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett KWKW Jose Garcia, Jaime Jarrín
← 1968 Seasons 1970 →

The 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers finished in fourth place in the new National League West, eight games behind the Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers' record for 1969 was 85–77, which was nine wins better than 1968.

Offseason

• October 21, 1968: Bob Bailey was purchased from the Dodgers by the Montreal Expos.^[1]
• October 21, 1968: Jim Ellis was traded by the Dodgers to St. Louis Cardinals for Pete Mikkelsen.^[2]
• December 4, 1968: Mike Kekich was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Yankees for Andy Kosco.^[3]
• December 5, 1968: Jim Campanis was acquired from the Dodgers by the Kansas City Royals.^[4]
• March 30, 1969: Ted Savage was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Jimmie Schaffer.^[5]

Regular season

After finishing 8th in 1967 and 7th in 1968, the Dodgers looked to improve in 1969 with the addition of youngsters Ted Sizemore, Bill Sudakis, and by obtaining Tom Haller in a trade. The Dodgers started fast and on June 10, they were in 2nd place at 31–22, 1 game back in a wild 5 team N.L. West race. On June 11, they reacquired Maury Wills in a trade, and obtained Manny Mota in the same deal for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich. By July 16, they were in 1st place, and after beating the Mets on September 3, they were in second place, 1 game back. Centerfielder Willie Davis had just extended his club record 31 game hitting streak. They headed to San Diego to face the expansion Padres in a 4-game series and disaster struck. They scored 4 runs in 4 games, lost 4 in a row, and Davis had his hitting streak stopped in the first game. They left San Diego in 4th place, still only 2+1⁄2 games out. They rebounded somewhat, and when they beat the Atlanta Braves on September 18, they were one-half game behind co-leaders Atlanta and the San Francisco Giants as they headed to San Francisco. The pressure of the season long five team pennant race got to this young team, as they lost 10 of their next 11 games, ultimately finishing 85–77, 8 games behind division winning Atlanta.

Impact

While they did not win the division, the 1969 Dodgers marked the start of a turnaround for the franchise. After finishing 8th and 7th in 1967 and 1968 respectively, they would not finish in the bottom half of the standings again until 1984. Ted Sizemore won the rookie of the year award, and other youngsters like Steve Garvey, Bill Russell, Von Joshua, Bobby Valentine, and Bill Buckner contributed in back up roles. Waiting in the wings in the minors were Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Tom Paciorek, and manager Tommy Lasorda.

Season standings

v t e NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	93	69	0.574	—	50–31	43–38
San Francisco Giants	90	72	0.556	3	52–29	38–43
Cincinnati Reds	89	73	0.549	4	50–31	39–42
Los Angeles Dodgers	85	77	0.525	8	50–31	35–46
Houston Astros	81	81	0.500	12	52–29	29–52
San Diego Padres	52	110	0.321	41	28–53	24–57

Record vs. opponents

1969 National League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	3–9	12–6	15–3	9–9	8–4	4–8	6–6	8–4	13–5	9–9	6–6
Chicago	9–3	—	6–6–1	8–4	6–6	10–8	8–10	12–6	7–11	11–1	6–6	9–9
Cincinnati	6–12	6–6–1	—	9–9	10–8	8–4	6–6	10–2	5–7	11–7	10–8	8–4
Houston	3–15	4–8	9–9	—	6–12	11–1	10–2	8–4	3–9	10–8	10–8	7–5
Los Angeles	9–9	6–6	8–10	12–6	—	10–2	4–8	8–4	8–4	12–6	5–13	3–9
Montreal	4–8	8–10	4–8	1–11	2–10	—	5–13	11–7	5–13	4–8	1–11	7–11
New York	8–4	10–8	6–6	2–10	8–4	13–5	—	12–6	10–8	11–1	8–4	12–6
Philadelphia	6-6	6–12	2–10	4–8	4–8	7–11	6–12	—	10–8	8–4	3–9	7–11
Pittsburgh	4–8	11–7	7–5	9–3	4–8	13–5	8–10	8–10	—	10–2	5–7	9–9
San Diego	5–13	1–11	7–11	8–10	6–12	8–4	1–11	4–8	2–10	—	6–12	4–8
San Francisco	9–9	6–6	8–10	8–10	13–5	11–1	4–8	9–3	7–5	12–6	—	3–9
St. Louis	6–6	9–9	4–8	5–7	9–3	11–7	6–12	11–7	9–9	8–4	9–3	—

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day starters
Name	Position
Willie Crawford	Center fielder
Len Gabrielson	Right fielder
Bill Sudakis	Third baseman
Ron Fairly	First baseman
Andy Kosco	Left fielder
Tom Haller	Catcher
Jim Lefebvre	Second baseman
Ted Sizemore	Shortstop
Don Drysdale	Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

• April 17, 1969: Tommy Dean and Leon Everitt were traded by the Dodgers to the San Diego Padres for Al McBean.^[6]
• June 11, 1969: Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich were traded by the Dodgers to the Montreal Expos for Maury Wills and Manny Mota.^[7]
• August 15, 1969: Chuck Goggin, Ron Mitchell (minors) and cash were traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jim Bunning.^[8]
• September 1, 1969: Jack Jenkins was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.^[9]

Roster

1969 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 21 Jim Brewer 17 Jim Bunning 34 Bobby Darwin 53 Don Drysdale 44 Alan Foster 29 Jack Jenkins 42 Ray Lamb 31 Al McBean 46 Pete Mikkelsen 25 Joe Moeller 23 Claude Osteen 35 John Purdin 40 Bill Singer 20 Don Sutton		Catchers 15 Tom Haller  8 Bob Stinson 10 Jeff Torborg Infielders 45 Ken Boyer  6 Ron Fairly  1 Billy Grabarkewitz  4 Tommy Hutton  5 Jim Lefebvre 28 Wes Parker 22 Paul Popovich 41 Ted Sizemore 16 Bill Sudakis 30 Maury Wills		Outfielders 27 Willie Crawford  3 Willie Davis 14 Len Gabrielson 12 Von Joshua  9 Andy Kosco 43 John Miller 11 Manny Mota 18 Bill Russell Other batters 38 Bill Buckner  6 Steve Garvey  2 Bobby Valentine		Manager 24 Walter Alston Coaches 26 Red Adams 52 Carroll Beringer 19 Jim Gilliam  7 Roy Hartsfield 33 Danny Ozark

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Tom Haller	134	445	117	.263	6	39
1B	Wes Parker	132	471	131	.278	13	68
2B	Ted Sizemore	159	590	160	.271	4	46
3B	Bill Sudakis	132	462	108	.234	14	53
SS	Maury Wills	104	434	129	.297	4	39
LF	Manny Mota	85	294	95	.323	3	30
CF	Willie Davis	129	498	155	.311	11	59
RF	Andy Kosco	120	424	105	.248	19	74

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Willie Crawford	129	389	96	.247	11	41
Jim Lefebvre	95	275	65	.236	4	44
Bill Russell	98	212	48	.226	5	15
Len Gabrielson	83	178	48	.270	1	18
Jeff Torborg	51	124	23	.185	0	7
Billy Grabarkewitz	34	65	6	.092	0	5
Ron Fairly	30	64	14	.219	0	8
Paul Popovich	28	50	10	.200	0	4
Tommy Hutton	16	48	13	.271	0	4
John Miller	26	38	8	.211	1	1
Ken Boyer	25	34	7	.206	0	4
Bob Stinson	4	8	3	.375	0	2
Von Joshua	14	8	2	.250	0	0
Steve Garvey	3	3	1	.333	0	0
Bill Buckner	1	1	0	.000	0	0
Bobby Valentine	5	0	0	----	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Claude Osteen	41	321.0	20	15	2.66	183
Bill Singer	41	315.2	20	12	2.34	247
Don Sutton	41	293.1	17	18	3.47	217
Don Drysdale	12	62.2	5	4	4.45	24
Jim Bunning	9	56.1	3	1	3.36	33

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Alan Foster	24	102.2	3	9	4.38	59
Joe Moeller	23	51.1	1	0	3.33	25

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Jim Brewer	59	7	6	20	2.55	92
Pete Mikkelsen	48	7	5	4	2.77	51
Al McBean	31	2	6	4	3.91	26
Ray Lamb	10	0	1	1	1.80	11
John Purdin	9	0	0	0	6.06	6
Bobby Darwin	3	0	0	0	9.82	0
Jack Jenkins	1	0	0	0	0.00	1

Awards and honors

• National League Rookie of the Year
  • Ted Sizemore
• Gold Glove Award
  • Wes Parker
• NL Player of the Month
  • Willie Davis (August 1969)

All-Stars

• 1969 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Bill Singer, reserve

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Spokane Indians	Pacific Coast League	Tommy Lasorda
AA	Albuquerque Dodgers	Texas League	Del Crandall
A	Bakersfield Dodgers	California League	Don LeJohn
A	Daytona Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	Bob Shaw
A	Rogue Valley Dodgers	Northwest League	Bill Berrier
Rookie	Ogden Dodgers	Pioneer League	Ray Malgradi

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rogue Valley, Ogden

1969 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the fifth year of a Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 47 players in the June draft and 11 in the January draft.

The Dodgers first round selection in the June draft, High School Catcher Terry McDermott did make it to the Majors, in 1972, but played only 9 games.

The only player from this draft class who made any impact in the Majors was Lee Lacy, who was drafted twice this year... as a third baseman in the January draft and as a pitcher in the June draft. He was primarily an outfielder in the Majors, and played through 1987 with the Dodgers, Braves, Pirates and Orioles.

1969 Draft Picks

January draft [10] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Michael Kimbrell 2B Yes 1969–1970 A 2 Lee Lacy 3B Laney College No Dodgers – June 1969 1969–1987 MLB 3 Carl Salyers RHP Southwestern Christian Junior College No 4 Bob O'Brien LHP Fresno City College No Dodgers – June 1969 1969–1974 MLB 5 Dean Voegerl LHP Trinidad State Junior College No 6 Dave Maas 2B Fullerton College No January Secondary phase [11] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Pat Harrison INF University of Southern California No 2 William Camp RHP Oklahoma State University No Cubs – 1970 1970 AA 3 George Pugh LHP Mesa Community College No 4 William Ferguson 1B Texas Christian University No Reds – 1969 June 1969–1972 AAA 5 George Putz 1B Springfield College No Cardinals – 1969 June 1969–1973 AAA June draft [12] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Terry McDermott C St. Agnes High School Yes 1969–1976 MLB 2 Lee Lacy LHP Putnam City High School Yes 1969–1987 MLB 3 Al Dawson OF Lyndhurst High School Yes 1968–1972 AAA 4 Bob O'Brien OF Texas A&M University Yes 1969–1974 MLB 5 Mark Mechuk RHP St. Bernard High School No 6 Stan Wall LHP Raytown South High School Yes 1969–1978 MLB 7 James Cardasis OF New York University Yes 1969–1971 A 8 Kenneth Bruno SS Cliffside Park High School Yes 1969 A- 9 Larry President LHP Temple High School Yes 1969–1975 AAA 10 Ronald Mitchell OF Aqua Fria High School Yes 1969–1980 AAA 11 John Hughes 1B Parkwood High School Yes 1969–1973 AA 12 Stanley Russell RHP Villa Park High School Yes 1969–1972 A 13 Ronald Dolan 2B Seton Hall University No 14 Arthur Pauls RHP Lewis University Yes 1969–1971 A 15 Roy Staiger SS Bacone College No Mets – 1970 1970–1980 MLB 16 Jimmy Page RHP Hardesty High School No 17 Edgar Bellamy SS Fort Cobb High School No 18 Mark Pastrovich LHP Mascoutah High School No Twins – 1970 1970 A 19 Anthony Blakley SS Sullivan West High School No Pirates – 1971 1971 Rookie 20 Donald Sweetland C Saddleback College No 21 Joseph Szewczyk 1B New York University Yes 1969 Rookie 22 Royle Stillman OF North Torrance High School Yes 1969–1981 MLB 23 Manuel Washington OF Mississippi State University Yes 1969–1972 AA 24 David Allen LHP California Western University Yes 1970–1974 AAA 25 William Owen 3B Willington High School No 26 Jim Fuller OF San Diego City College No Orioles – 1970 1970–1978 MLB 27 Johnny Hatcher RHP Andrews High School No 28 Harry Chapman RHP Sarasota High School No 29 George Horman C Crawford High School No 30 Nick Devirgilis OF Sarasota High School No 31 Jeffrey Hogan SS Florida State University No Tigers – 1970 1970–1973 AA 32 Raymond Ippolito SS New York University No 33 Robert Cox RHP Southeast High School No 34 Vincent D'amico 1B University of Albuquerque Yes 1969 A- 35 Jerry Arnold LHP Woodward High School No 36 William Wyles LHP New Mexico Military Institute No 37 Gary Granville OF El Camino College No Angels – 1970 1970–1973 A 38 Johnny Rodgers INF Tech High School No 39 Gary Erskine OF Anderson High School No 40 Dennis Haren OF Bishop Montgomery High School Yes 1969–1974 AA 41 Rod Boone C Crawford High School No Royals – 1972 1972–1975 AAA 42 Robert Sicilia OF John R. Rogers High School Yes 1969 A- 43 Robert Payne OF University of California, Riverside Yes 1969 A- June secondary phase [13] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Bill Seinsoth 1B University of Southern California Yes 1969 A 2 Bob Randall SS Kansas State University Yes 1969–1980 MLB 3 Steven Wilmet LHP St. Norbert College Yes 1969 A- 4 Randall Bayer OF Mesa Community College Yes 1969–1972 A

Notes

References

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page

External links

• 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
• Los Angeles Dodgers official web site